The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army launched a major attack, destroying the isolated small units of the Beiyang Army and clearing the grassroots organizations of the Beiyang Army. Where the news reached Beiyang, it naturally became "the People's Party plundered Hebei". Since the People's Party had once disguised horse bandits as a horse bandit to conduct such an operation against the Manchus, Yuan Shikai did not feel that there was anything too surprising. However, he still immediately summoned the generals of Beiyang and asked to send troops in advance.

"President, it's not quite ready. It was a bit hasty to send troops immediately. The Beiyang generals were a little puzzled by Yuan Shikai's eager thoughts.

Yuan Shikai coldly threw out a sentence to this group of guys who couldn't see the situation clearly, "What do you eat if you don't send troops?" ”

"President, isn't there a problem with the military rations of the various armies?" Cao Kun said the truth stupidly.

Yuan Shikai was a little too lazy to answer with such a politically unpolitical answer, and Wang Shizhen replied: "The army went to explore everywhere, and the People's Party not only looted everywhere, but also kidnapped all the officials and tax collectors in various places. Without tax collectors, I am afraid that agricultural taxes will not be collected. ”

This is what Yuan Shikai really feels a headache, this is the time when tax collection is urgent, if the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army really loots, it would be fine, but in the news from Tanma, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's looting actions are not much, but they really arrested the Beiyang tax collectors and the security chiefs of villages around the country. Even if the People's Party sent 10,000 troops to plunder, it would not be able to get much food away from the people on their backs. Without these tax collectors, Beiyang tax collection would not have been able to go on at all. This can be said to be a salary draw from the bottom of the kettle. At this time, it was just the time when the grain was just harvested, and the people's grain was still drying. Once it is collected in a few days, Beiyang will not want to receive any more grain from taxes this year. Therefore, Yuan Shikai ordered the Beiyang armies to hurry up this time, and the purpose was also to force the People's Party's crazy attack as soon as possible, so that they could not continue to wreak havoc in Hebei.

After listening to Wang Shizhen's words, the generals were silent, and it was obvious that several of them had disapproving expressions on their faces. Yuan Shikai knew what these people didn't say, "The tax collectors can't collect grain, and the Beiyang Army can collect grain by itself." And this is exactly what Yuan Shikai tried his best to avoid. He couldn't understand the atmosphere of the Beiyang Army any better, and when the military discipline was majestic and the food was sufficient, the Beiyang Army might not be able to plunder the people. However, sending the Beiyang Army to collect grain in this way is destined to trigger large-scale looting of Hebei. Hebei is Zhili, it is the old nest of Beiyang, and he began to loot in the old nest, and Yuan Shikai himself couldn't make such a determination.

Duan Qirui was in charge of this marching plan, and since Yuan Shikai said so, he came up with a final battle plan that was basically formulated. Beiyang and the People's Party jointly attacked and concentrated a million-strong army in such a place as Hebei and Shandong to fight, and very subtle small means were useless at all. So the plan is a very decent battle plan for the big corps. The Beiyang princes were divided into two large groups and fought in Hebei and Shandong.

Considering that a considerable part of the People's Party's troops had not been put into Hebei, the initial plan was for Hebei's troops to launch an attack on the People's Party entrenched on the front line between Handan and Xingtai in the posture of encirclement and annihilation.

The Shandong side was divided into two routes, one to hold Jinan, and the other to Qingdao. At the same time, the Beiyang Fleet cooperated with the Beiyang Army at sea and laid siege to Qingdao. Once Qingdao was conquered, the Beiyang Army would move south along the railway built by the People's Party and go straight to Lianyungang to open up communication with the Southern Beiyang Army as soon as possible.

The plan is very desirable, the Beiyang Army has no experience in large-scale wars, and the concept of war is even more traditional, with occupying strategic points as the core concept. This plan was quite in line with the Beiyang Army's concept of war, and it was quickly adopted.

On July 4, 1915, a unit of reconnaissance aircraft of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army observed an anomaly on the horizon in the sky 40 kilometers north of Xingtai. There aren't many things that can make the horizon look different. The experienced pilots of the reconnaissance planes were probably sure that a large force of the Beiyang Army was coming this way. The fuel carried by the plane no longer left everyone with any time to stay in the air for observation, and the pilot immediately and decisively chose to return home.

As soon as he landed, the pilot immediately reported the situation and asked to take off again.

"Don't even think about it, it's time for the plane to be overhauled. You don't feel sorry for your life yourself, but our troops still feel sorry for you. Without saying a word, the captain refused the pilot's request.

"Then I'll change to another plane to reconnoitre!" Pilots have seen marching processions of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people, but the movement on the horizon is so unusual that just seeing the signs gives people the feeling that they want to see clearly.

"There is discipline in the attendance of pilots, and this must be done in accordance with the regulations." The captain of the brigade is not accommodating at all. The comrades of the Air Force had sacrificed too many lives because of mechanical failures, and the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could not bear such losses at all in order to lose their lives in order to see more at a glance.

"Don't worry, I'll take a good look at your share." It was the turn of the next pilot on duty and laughed, "Besides, the enemy can't run that fast." Thirty or forty miles, their large army had to walk for a day. Tomorrow you can see everything. ”

Jokes aside, the pilots who took off in the second round looked serious before pulling the joystick. Every time you go to heaven, you fight for your life, and this is a fact that countless records, training, and witnesses of accidents clearly tell the truth. After the plane was accurately piloted into the air, it first flew around the airfield, and only after observing the plane's normal flight on the ground did the pilot be allowed to carry out cruise reconnaissance toward the north of Xingtai.

In the absence of radar and radio navigation, all flights rely on the calibration of ground flying targets to determine the position of aircraft. Trees, roads, rivers, and landmarks that are easy to see from the controls are the basis for the pilots' judgment. Most of the energy in the air is spent making these judgments. Coupled with observing the situation on the ground, no matter what jokes were made before takeoff, there was no joke in the pilot's mind after the sky was over.

It didn't take long to fly more than 30 kilometers north along the railway line, and it was 10 a.m., and the summer sun was shining brightly. The pupils of the pilot's goggles constricted, not because of the glare of the sun, but because he saw several cyan dragons appear on the distant horizon. Even though he was condescending in the air at an altitude of more than 400 meters, the pilot still did not see the end of these cyan dragons.

The small dots at the front were definitely the sentinel cavalry, and these horse teams were rushing to and fro, and the billowing dust raised on the ground could be seen even from the air. As for the movement of the group of men and horses rolling forward, the pilot had no intention of continuing to observe. A few aerial photos were taken, and the pilot immediately returned to report back. When the 12th Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was stationed near Xingtai, it had already greatly damaged the Jinghan Railway. Naturally, the railroad tracks were demolished, and the roadbed was stripped off nearly a kilometer. The purpose was to prevent the Beiyang army from arriving in Xingtai by train. But the facts in front of us show one thing, the Beiyang Army is still coming.

Chai Qingguo knew the news of the Beiyang Army's southward movement, and the 18th Army, as a field army, had taken over the 12th Army of the Engineer Corps. The 12th Army was not idle, they spent more than ten days on the main communication line between Xingtai and Handan to build a solid defense system, this defense system with a depth of more than 10 kilometers from the north to the south and east to the west is not even an exaggeration to call it a defense line, and the grain harvested from nearby is also stored in the defense line, which is enough for the 18th Army to feed 100,000 people for two months. There is no shortage of water, food, ammunition, or defense. With the current ability of the Beiyang Army, it is impossible to avoid this defensive position, and if they want to save Handan's troops, they must break through this defensive system.

Less than 100 miles away was the 15th Army in Linzhang County, which was a mobile unit, and the troops were ready to maneuver with the Beiyang Army. Further south, on the border of Henan and Hebei, is the 12th Army. Their task was to block the possibility of the Beiyang Army going south with all its might.

After making sure that all the troops were in place, Chai Qingguo ordered: "Once the Beiyang Army enters the attack range, the Air Force will begin to carry out routine bombing of the Beiyang Army. ”

In the afternoon, the Air Force planes of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army took off with bombs. At this time, the troops of the Beiyang Army moved forward for about ten miles. There was still no end in sight to the entire long line, but the entire unit completely entered the air force cruising range. At high altitude, it was determined that the direction of flight was directly above the marching brigade of the Beiyang Army, and the air force pilot pulled the bomb dropping handle. As the plane's magazine opened, the airflow in the cockpit began to change slightly. The bomb delivery method was originally designed without air flow in mind, so in addition to mechanical applause, a group leader died heroically. In the later adjustment design, four aircraft were also dropped. In the end, the bomb was placed almost externally on the outside of the aircraft and was dropped by mechanical transmission. Even so, there is still a lot of wind in the cabin in the various crevices.

After flipping the handle, the aircraft instantly lost 48 kilograms of weight, and there was a slight vibration due to the change in the center of gravity. It was such a small shock that cost the Air Force at least six aircraft and four lives. The sixth captain of the Air Force Brigade of the Henan Military Region led three other pilots to test the solution to this problem. One of the three pilots took over the post of seventh captain of the Air Force Group.

The flap angle was adjusted according to the manual, and the vibration quickly subsided. The pilot had time to observe the results at this time. On the ground, the cyan dragon composed of Beiyang Army soldiers began to twist, centered on the bomb explosion point, and the enemy scattered in all directions, and the condensed team scattered like cyan sand. This made the pilot shout excitedly. The newly arrived Beiyang Army was obviously no more warlike than Wu Peifu's troops in Handan.

The news of Hebei's enemy's southward movement soon reached Shandong, and Pu Guanshui, the acting commander of the military district, breathed a sigh of relief. When the situation in the Handan area of Hebei Province was in full swing, and Shandong seemed to be calm, the Shandong Military Region of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army remained stationary. Located in the front-line headquarters in Jining, Pu Guanshui once had no respect for his former boss in his words, "Yuan Shikai has become a turtle?" ”

Pu Guanshui knew very well that such anger was meaningless, and it was impossible to kill Yuan Shikai by scolding. The strategy of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was not to compete with the Beiyang Army in Hebei and Shandong. In terms of overall strategy, the Military Commission of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army hoped to mobilize the main forces of Beiyang in Hebei, and when the two sides were deadlocked, the Shandong Military Region quickly dispatched troops to capture Jinan, and then seize Dezhou, from which it penetrated directly into Beijing.

However, the reaction of the Beiyang Army is not easy to predict, so it is also likely that the main direction of attack is Hebei rather than Shandong. The two armies in Henan were waiting for the movement of Beiyang. Now that the Beiyang forces have taken action, the war is about to enter a more substantive stage.

"Prepare to start attacking the Daimyo's Mansion!" Pu Guanshui said to the comrades of the military region.

"Commander, in the original plan, the Military Commission ordered us to annihilate the enemy attacking the base area, and in the information we have now, the Beiyang Army is going to attack Qingdao first, why don't we annihilate the enemy's troops attacking Qingdao first?" This is perfectly normal thinking.

Pu Guanshui does not support this common view, "After we defeat the enemy attacking Qingdao, what will the enemy do?" Aren't you still nesting in Jinan and don't dare to move? At that time, we will eventually have to fight them. Rather than this, we should take Jinan in one fell swoop while the enemy's main force is attacking Qingdao. If the Beiyang Army does not react quickly enough, we will directly attack Dezhou, which can not only divide the Beiyang Army in two, but also open the door to attack Beijing. ”

"The morale of the Beiyang Army is high now, why bother competing with them at this time?" There are always dissenting opinions.

"The morale of the Beiyang Army is now high, and they dare to send a large force to attack Qingdao. If their morale is gone, these people will definitely cower in Jinan and dare not move. Comrades feel that the current attack on Jinan seems to be a head-to-head confrontation with the Beiyang Army, but have you ever considered that in the future, when we attack Jinan, the number of enemies we will face is likely to be greater than the number of enemies now. Now the move is just right to catch the enemy off guard in this gap after the enemy's forces are mobilized. ”

"If the enemy does not go down to Qingdao, it is likely to turn south. Wouldn't it be easier for us to work at that time? ”

Pu Guanshui said with a smile: "They can't even beat Qingdao, do they dare to go south?" Are you ready to be attacked on your back? Or do they set up a line of defense opposite Qingdao and trap Qingdao? Even if the Beiyang Army can't fight, they should still know the most basic military common sense. ”

When such a confidant didn't know where he was, Pu Guanshui was reluctant to entangle too much, and he asked loudly: "Comrades, our Shandong troops have been mainly defensive battles so far. Or fight a battle to lure the enemy into depth, hold Qingdao, and annihilate the Japanese Kyushu Division is everyone's famous battle. But is the skill of our Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army defensive warfare? Our Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army has been attacking non-stop since the day it was built! That's why we can come here step by step from Fengtai County, Anhui Province. Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army is indeed very large, but when they attacked Qingdao, we were able to send two or three times as many troops as the defenders of Jinan to attack. Or is it that our comrades can't hold Qingdao in the face of the attack of the Beiyang Army? ”

After glancing at the comrades, Pu Guanshui said loudly: "The commander of which unit thinks that this battle cannot be fought, no problem, I can replace him." There must be comrades who can win this battle! There must be comrades who will be able to command the troops to victory! ”

When such cruel words came out, no one dared to speak up. The comrades of the Shandong Military Region did not believe that they could defeat the Beiyang Army, but the comrades had never experienced siege battles with a scale of more than 100,000 people, and they also had no bottom in their hearts.

"Let's ask the Military Commission for instructions on this matter, right?" The comrades also did not fully agree with Puguanshui's high-pressure policy.

At this moment, the correspondent shouted at the door: "Report, received a call from the Military Commission!" ”

"Read!" Pu Guanshui ordered with a calm face. Although he didn't know what the CMC's order was, Pu Guanshui had already decided that he would try his best to persuade the CMC to agree to his campaign design no matter what.

The correspondent read aloud: "The current situation has changed, and when Beiyang is attacking on a large scale, it is recommended that the Shandong Military Region use Qingdao to attract enemy forces and seize Jinan. After the capture of Jinan, an opportunity was created for a direct attack on Texas. If the Beiyang Army can be divided into two parts, our army can easily annihilate one of the enemy, which will greatly benefit the overall battle situation. The Shandong Military Region replied to this as soon as possible. ”

Pu Guanshui's face relaxed immediately, and the other comrades nodded slowly, since the attitude of the Military Commission had been determined, there was no further debate on whether to attack Jinan.

The Beiyang attack on Qingdao was mainly carried out by the First Army stationed in Jinan and the Second Army transferred from Dezhou. The total number of these two armies was as high as 200,000 people, and the commander-in-chief was Jin Yunpeng, commander of the Daimyo Mansion. This is the head of the "Four King Kongs" under Duan Qirui, and he is deeply trusted by Duan Qirui.

In these days when the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army divided Shandong equally, Jin Yunpeng was very nervous from the beginning and slowly got used to it.

The People's Party seized Qingdao, which was taken from the Germans, and there was no special conflict in other respects except for the People's Party's seizure of the Yimeng Mountains. As for the Yimeng Mountain area, there is nothing remarkable about Jin Yunpeng at all. It was a place where people were poor to death, with no money or taxes, and it was a place where bandits were rampant. The local mountain people are "sinister and unruly by nature". It would take a lot of money and food to maintain such a ghost place. If something goes wrong, you will be held responsible.

However, Jin Yunpeng felt that it was a pity to give up these areas so easily this year, as far as he knew, the People's Party used oak leaves to raise silkworms in the Yimeng Mountains, and foreigners now have a great demand for silk, and almost everyone who comes. Although tussah silk is not suitable for making clothes compared with mulberry silk, Jin Yunpeng finally knows that foreigners buy this thing to make heavy artillery powder bags. Tussah silk is stronger, but foreigners like it. Relying on this alone, the poor people in the Yimeng Mountains have earned a lot.

After receiving the order to attack Qingdao, Jin Yunpeng was quite excited. If he could seize Qingdao and even Shandong, this innumerable source of wealth would fall into his hands. Even though he knew that the People's Party was not easy to mess with, let alone big, he still decided to give it a try.